In broadcasting stations and production companies, groups (staff) perform a variety of jobs while staying in close contact with each other in a production of television programs and video contents (hereinafter referred to as a video program).
FIG. 24 illustrates a work flow for a video program production. The job content of each group is briefly shown. Broken lines represent a request from one group to another to perform a job, a request for information, a notification, a supply of produced materials, and the like.
When a video program is produced, a planning and composition group develops a concept, plans a program, and studies and discusses the content of the program, and then finalizes the composition of the program.
Based on the plan and composition, the plan and composition group sends a project book to each group, and issues job instructions.
The work groups include a material gathering group, an office work group, an equipment group, an information group, a speech group, a CG (computer graphics)/SI (superimpose) group, an editing group, a performer group, a material group, a storage group, etc.
The material gathering group gathers materials in response to instructions. The group prepares for a material gathering operation, and requests the office work group to perform required procedures and paper work. The material gathering group also requests the material group to prepare equipment for preliminary inspection.
The office work group performs paper work for material gathering procedure, material gathering permit, arrangement for business trip, and contracts.
The equipment group procures equipment required for the preliminary inspection for the material gathering.
The material gathering group performs the preliminary inspection after the material gathering procedure and the procurement of the equipment are complete. The material gathering group transfers information collected in the preliminary inspection and a video obtained on a trial basis to the planning and composition group.
The information group studies information relating to the video program to be produced, and reports the information to the planning and composition group.
The speech group produces a speech draft, and submits the speech draft to the planning and composition group.
The CG/SI group analyses the content of a video required for the video program, and produces trial data to be checked in computer graphics and superimposing. The CG/SI group transfers the data to the planning and composition group.
The editing group analyzes the content of the video program to be produced, and produces an edit instruction sheet.
The performer group analyzes the content of performance required for the video program to be produced, and designs a plan of casting of performers and anchorman, and transfers the plan to the planning and composition group.
The material group studies video materials and music, tentatively procures the video materials and music, and transfers the procured the video materials and music to the planning and composition group.
The planning and composition group studies and confirms information, materials, video, music, etc. supplied from the other groups. The planning and composition group issues instructions to each group in accordance with the study results as necessary.
The speech group produces a speech sheet, and transfers the speech sheet to the material gathering group.
The material gathering group receives equipment for a real material gathering operation from the equipment group, and performs the real material gathering operation together with performers planned by the performer group. Video and audio data captured in the real material gathering operation are transferred to the planning and composition group.
The planning and composition group checks the content of the material gathering operation by performing off-line editing and pre-viewing, and transfers the gathered material to the editing group.
The CG/SI group produces final data for computer graphics and superimposing, and transfers the final data to the editing group.
The performer group records a narration, and transfers data of the narration to the editing group.
The material group selects and modifies the material video to be inserted into the video program, and music such as BGM (background music), and transfers the document video and the music data to the editing group.
After modifying the edit instruction sheet, the editing group performs an editing operation on the captured video, CG/SI, document video, music, and narration in accordance with the editing instruction sheet, thereby finalizing the video program.
The planning and composition group finally checks the video program as a complete packet.
The video and audio data obtained in the material gathering operation is transferred to the storage group for storage as video/audio document.
The video program as the complete packet is transferred to the storage group for storage.
The above-referenced work flow is one example only, and in practice, more detailed jobs are performed in practice. Each group thus performs jobs in cooperation with other groups with reference to the progress of the other groups.
Ideally, each group performs required jobs in a flexible manner while keeping close contact with the other groups to keep status information of the other group updated.
However, it is difficult to exchange detailed progress reports with each other among the groups, and the exchanging of the detailed progress reports increases burden on each group, thereby degrading work efficiency.
Requests and documents are exchanged in the form of paper documents.
Group-to-group communications shown in FIG. 24 are performed at the moment each job step is completed.
A delayed job in one group easily affects the progress of another group, and a content of instructions is difficult to correct and modify.
It is extremely difficult to cause a number of work groups to perform the jobs thereof efficiently in cooperation.
The instructions from the planning and composition group are issued in the form of paper documents.
For example, the material gathering group gather materials and takes video in accordance with scenarios, scripts, and storyboard. The CG/SI group produces computer graphics in accordance with these documents. Similarly, the material group selects document video and music in accordance with the instruction sheet.
The concept of the project is difficult to convey in writing, and the material gathering and production satisfying the concept of the project are difficult.
The instructions themselves are difficult to correct and modify.
In the editing operation, arranging the video content, captured in the material gathering operation, in order; is not so easy, and performing the editing operation in alignment with the concept of the project is not so easy. The instructions are issued in writing, and the content of the video taking performed by the material gathering group is described in hand-written memo. It is therefore not easy to identify a location in a scenario or a script corresponding to a good scene and a good cut.
More specifically, performing the jobs in an efficient manner with the groups cooperating with each other is difficult in the known video program production. Each group has difficulty in properly performing jobs in response to requests from the other groups with the concept of the project maintained in alignment.
A slight correction and modification are not easy to undergo in the plan and composition.
Known techniques are disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication Nos. 2001-184802, 2001-216763, and 2001-290731.